By Tom Arden
The High Court has awarded €62,190 to Sheila Colburn after finding that a defective section of footpath on Castle Street in Sligo caused her to trip and suffer lasting injuries.
Colburn was walking along the footpath on June 29th, 2006 when she fell. Mr Justice O’Neill found that the cause was a depression in a drainage channel created by a missing piece of concrete.
The judge accepted engineering evidence that the concrete had been disturbed by excavations beside the channel rather than normal wear and tear. The depression was measured at 15 millimetres deep. The court found it was large and uneven enough to catch the toe of Colburn’s shoe and amounted to a tripping hazard.
Sligo Borough Council disputed that the edge presented such a hazard. Its engineer said the surface facing Colburn was graduated rather than abrupt. The judge rejected that position after considering the photographs and evidence.
There was no evidence that Colburn herself contributed to the accident.
Colburn, who was 71 by the time of judgment, had undergone two knee replacements in 2002 and 2003. The council argued that some of her later difficulties reflected her earlier medical history. The court did not accept that. It found that she had regained normal mobility after the knee surgery and was leading a normal life before the fall.
The accident caused an undisplaced fracture of her left elbow and a soft-tissue injury to her right knee. Those injuries largely resolved. Her more significant problems were injuries to her neck and lower back.
The judge accepted medical evidence that the fall had caused major disruption to her life. Her walking distance had become severely limited by lower-back pain, while neck and shoulder symptoms affected her sleep. She required daily anti-inflammatory and pain medication, with no prospect of significant improvement.
The court awarded €60,000 in general damages for pain, suffering and future effects, together with agreed special damages of €2,190.